Building projects of all sizes and types were eligible but had to demonstrate "innovation, design excellence and competition".

Other factors for the judges were the detailing of materials, sustainable design, technical ability and aesthetic appeal.

Revealing the judges' choice, Professor Andy MacMillan, of RIAS, said: "Poetically named An Turas, A Journey, it is small, simple and sophisticated, reticent, refined and rigorous, a modern interpretation of the gazebo and a stunning architectural experience.

"Not a shelter, but a place in which to experience Tiree, the big sky, the undending wind and water, the beauty of the island and its squalor.

The building was funded by the Scottish Arts Council and created by Sutherland Hussey Architects along with Jake Harvey, Glen Onwin, Donald Urquhart and Sandra Kennedy.

We're really happy, we're ecstatic, its fantastic for us as an architectural practice to get this profile just six years after we set up

Charlie SutherlandSutherland Hussey Architects

Brian Milne, chairman of the Tiree Art Enterprises public body and the client for the winner said he had received a lot of opposition to the project.

He said: "It was very political, It was difficult because the island wanted to get a new rural centre and a new public hall but they didn't have funding for it.

"Some people misguidedly thought that the money spent on the project could have been transferred to those other projects.

"We want a positive attitude to the 21st century and why shouldn't we benefit from new architecture just because we live on an island?"

'Wonderfully imaginative'

Charlie Sutherland, of Sutherland Hussey Architects in Leith, said: "We're really happy, we're ecstatic, its fantastic for us as an architectural practice to get this profile just six years after we set up."

Culture Minister Frank McAveety described the shelter as "a wonderfully imaginative example of how art, architecture and landscape can be combined to reflect the spirit of a place".

The £100,000 project, aimed at combining architecture, art and engineering, was completed in March 2003.